Street Fight Daily: 01.23.12

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.

Mason: Groupon Has 10,000 Employees, 70% Outside of U.S. (TechCrunch)
“We now have 150 million subscribers, and we’re good at getting customers in the door of the merchants we work with,” said Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason. “Our aim is to change the way people shop locally, giving more buying power for consumers and enhancing transactions and inventory management for merchants.”

CBS Local Deal Opens Door for Pureplay (NetNewsCheck)
Examiner.com, the Clarity Digital Group-owned local-content network, has opened up new audiences with a recent deal to provide its vetted user-created content on niche topics to CBS Local. The deal also creates new revenue streams for the network, adding to what is already drawn from display ads and sponsored content.

Why 2012 Is the Year of Mobile Advertising (Mashable)
Ernie Cormier: Mobile-driven, location-based services are becoming a staple in nearly all parts of our lives, including mobile advertising. Advertisers are using local and hyperlocal campaigns to promote events and drive in-store sales, and an ever-increasing number of consumers respond to deal-, coupon- and event-based advertising.

Groupon Acquires Mertado for Its Social Commerce Expertise (AllThingsD)
Groupon has acquired its second start-up in the social commerce space over the past month. The sites has acquired Bay Area-based Mertado, a social shopping company that helps consumers discover new products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but several members of Mertado’s staff will be joining Groupon,

Home Depot looks to Silicon Valley for growth (GigaOm)
is showing that it is trying to be more innovative and forward-thinking with the purchase of online home services marketplace Redbeacon. It’s unclear how Home Depot wants to use Redbeacon, which allows users to get bids on home projects by contractors using Redbeacon’s marketplace.